On June 20 2026, it was reported that hackers published 45GB of stolen data from Madison Square Garden. This follows after the company came under scrutiny for increasing its use of surveillance and facial recognition systems. This incident happened shortly after the Knicks secured their first NBA Championship since 1973 and has already resulted in a federal class-action lawsuit.
According to reports, the leaked files allegedly contain millions of records, including customer information and documents referencing players and coaches associated with the New York Knicks. Among the allegedly leaked files were emails discussing concerns about the venue's facial recognition practices.
Key Lessons:
👉 The more personal data an organisation collects, the more attractive it ultimately becomes to attackers due to the exploitative nature of the data itself.
👉 Sensitive data poses a greater risk and carries greater consequences if security fails.
👉 Surveillance systems create privacy risks not only during collection, but also during storage - robust security has to be top priority for anyone wishing to collect highly sensitive data.
This incident serves as a reminder that collecting sensitive data is a huge responsibility: collection, storage and appropriate technical measures have to be followed throughout the whole life cycle of the data.
🔒 If organisations want to monitor people via facial recognition, they must at least be prepared to invest heavily into the protection of the data they collect.
